A digital strategy provides a great opportunity for success and to achieve desired outcomes with digital extension methodology, particularly if all the components of a strategy are considered in forming it.
The key components of a digital strategy to consider will be dependent upon your organisation characteristics and digital capability and capacity, the environment it is operating in and what your vision and goals are.
Vision and Goals
Like with all strategies, you first must be clear on what it is the strategy is aimed at achieving. To do so first answer these questions:
a) What is the vision for your digital strategy?
b) What are the S.M.A.R.T. goals for your digital strategy?
c) What will your digital strategy need to include in order to achieve your vision and goals?
Outside of your vision and goals the components to consider are:
Online presence
Your online presence refers to how and where the community and other organisations and businesses will find and engage with you online. It typically includes:
• Your website (mobile phone compatible)
• The social media platforms you will use
• Any online advertising mediums (see Digital Marketing Below).
Digital marketing
This is the way you will promote your organisation online and where. E.g. Facebook advertising, other social media platforms, pop-ups, online banners, e-newsletters, direct email campaigns, using programmatic ad buys (actionable information that is placed in related articles or online posts), using online influencers (key well known people or organisations to place “ads” for your products or services) and video promotion and advertising.
Other strategies include things such as:
• Leveraging your premium content
• Leveraging any premium content of your stakeholders
• Creating online groups or forums where your users can come together around you content
Selling online
Do you have products or services to sell online as part of your Digital Strategy? If yes, where will you do so and how. The other key things to consider are:
• What online processes will you use?
• How will it be integrated with you overall online presence?
Customer interaction
How will you enable end users to interact with your organisation? This could be on a range of devices (mobile, tablet, computers and all the different types of those) and via a range of software e.g. social media, ask an expert, online apps, blogs, email, pop-ups, text or phone call.
It must require minimal effort for an end user to find what you are offering and for them to know how to contact you and your organisation if needed.
To help your engagement with customers, you could use a customer relationship management (CRM) system that can help plan and implement how you are going to engage with end users by helping carry out functions such as:
• Capturing and collating information about your users
• Tracking engagement
• Tracking the performance of any marketing strategies and campaigns
• Processing and tracking any formal transactions
• Collecting and storing user information
Online security
Online security, how your data and information stored will be protected and the terms of the protection processes. How any transactions will be protected and the terms of those transactions.
Supplier interaction
How the interaction with the suppliers of any information, services or products will occur and what the terms of those interactions will be.
Mobile-based solutions
Ensuring any information provision, products or services provided online and any associated processes can be carried out on mobile devices.
Efficiencies through technology
Matching the right digital technology for the right purpose, be it hardware (tablets, computers, smart phones, servers, cloud, etc.) or software (social media, email marketing and management, CRM systems, management software, analytics software, website software, etc), can your “suppliers”, team members and end users undertake their work and interactions efficiently and effectively.
Efficiency opportunities include opportunities for automation, information sourcing, tabling and answering questions, carrying out any transactions and collaborating virtually online.
Including the ability to process data faster, retrieve information more easily and even downsize your organisation through the complete automation of suitable tasks. Consider how your organisation operates and determine which technologies will benefit your organisation to save time and increase your bottom line.
Cloud computing
Cloud computing offers opportunities to store information, access data and programs online; instead of on your computer hard drives or physical servers that you own. It can provide ease of access, security and back-up solutions. It can also enable online, in real time collaboration and interactions.
Analytics
Analytics provides data and information to help monitor and review performance and to assist in planning and decision making. Analytics can be used to better understand users and their behaviour, evaluate marketing strategies, update content and develop new content, services or products.
Digital Strategy Template
Copy this template and fill out the sections that are relevant for your situation. For instance, security or cloud computing may not apply, as those are a given as your organisation may already have capability and capacity in that regard.
Vision – Vision statement:
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
1.
2.
3.
4.
Online Presence
Tick the ones that apply to you:
o Website
o Facebook Page
o Facebook Group
o YouTube Channel
o LinkedIn
o Twitter
o Instagram
o Other (Please list)
Comments:
Digital Marketing
How will you promote and make your online presence discoverable? Tick the ones that apply to you:
o Social media posts
o Search engine optimisation
o Facebook adds
o Pop ups
o Online banners
o Direct email campaigns
o Direct text campaigns
o E-newsletters
o Programmatic ad buys (actionable information that is placed in related articles or online posts)
o Online influencers (key well known people or organisations to place “ads” for your information, products or services)
o Promotional videos
o Leveraging premium content
o Online groups or forums
o Other
Comments:
Selling Online
Do you have products or services to sell online? If yes, where you will do so and how. Select from the options below:
o eBay
o Amazon
o Payment gateway on your site
o Facebook shop
o Facebook business page
o Shopify
o Dropshipping
o Other
Comments:
Customer/User Interaction
Do you want interaction with users, if so how? (Tick ones that may apply):
o Contact details supplied on a Website (email)
o Contact details supplied on a Website (phone)
o Ask an expert application
o Popups
o Blog – discussion board
o Social media
o CRM database
o Other:
Comments:
Online security
How will online security be supplied?
o Proprietary software
o Strong passwords
o Two factor authentication
o Keeping your domain name renewed
o Back ups
o Other
Comments:
Supplier interaction
How the interaction with the suppliers of any information, services or products will occur and what the terms of those interactions will be, tick those that may apply:
o Licence agreements
o Terms and conditions
o Google drive
o Microsoft teams
o Sharepoint
o Facebook group
o Trello
o Slack
o Email
o Monday.com
o Text
o Phone call
o Other
Comments:
Mobile-based solution
Will you need to make things mobile friendly?
o Yes
o No
o Maybe
Comments:
Efficiencies through technology
Which hardware offers efficiencies for what you are doing:
o Tablets
o Desk top computers
o Smart phones
o Your organisation’s own servers
o Cloud servers
o Other hardware:
Comments:
Which software offers efficiencies for what you are doing:
o Social media
o Email
o CRM systems
o Management software
o Analytics software
o Cloud computing
o Other:
Comments:
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing, opportunities to store information, access data and use software programs online. It can provide ease of access, security and back-up solutions. It can also enable online, in real time collaboration and interactions.
Please tick any that you may use:
o Online server
o Online backups
o Online security
o Video streaming
o eCommerce
o Online collaboration
o Data backup
o Disaster recovery
o Other:
Comments:
Analytics
Analytics are critical for your digital marketing strategy to monitor and evaluate, help you track and measure website traffic and pageviews, measure your other online channels and to understand the relationship between all channels.
Other online channels, including social media, video, and mobile. As marketers adopt an omni-channel approach it’s important to understand the relationship between each channel and how they contribute to your website traffic and conversions.
Which analytics will you consider using:
o Google analytics
o Facebook insights
o Facebook analytics
o YouTube channel analytics
o Twitter analytics
o Other:
Comments:
Digital Strategy Action Plan
You can use this table to document the actions needed to carry out your Digital Strategy.
| Action Step |
Responsible |
Start Date | Milestone(s)/KPI | Due Date | Resources |
Detailed Outcome |
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